Apple Campus 2 headed for Cupertino City Council decision on Oct. 15

Like just about everyone else in Cupertino, the city's planning commission really likes the Apple Campus 2 project.

The commission gave a big thumbs up to the project on Oct. 2, paving the way for a final vote of approval by the Cupertino City Council on Oct. 15.

Residents and business leaders filled the city's council chamber last week to once again hear details about Apple's eye-catching new home. The planning commission's meeting came one night after a shared study session with the city council and an overwhelmingly pro-campus audience.

The proposed 176-acre campus will take over much of the former Hewlett-Packard campus bounded by Pruneridge Avenue, Homestead Road, N. Wolfe Road and N. Tantau Avenue. The project will see the demolition of roughly 2.66 million square feet of existing office, research and development buildings and the construction of 3.42 million square feet of new office space, as well as a 1,000-seat auditorium, fitness center, valet parking center, utility plant and parking structure.

Dan Whisenhunt, Apple's director of real estate and facilities, detailed the project to residents and commissioners during a short presentation. Whisenhunt said the former HP campus, with its "outdated buildings in a sea of asphalt," will transform into 80 percent green space with plenty of nods to Santa Clara Valley's agricultural past.

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Despite the project's massive size, vast landscaping and intricate detail, the main sticking point of discussion during the commission's hearing was on a proposed Apple employee exit from the campus onto N. Wolfe Road toward the Interstate 280 onramp. The proposed exit will have three left-turn lanes, a feature Apple has indicated is key to moving the project forward, according to Cupertino city staff.

There is concern that vehicles leaving the campus could resort to weaving dangerously onto N. Wolfe Road between the driveway in their attempts to get into the proper lanes bound for Interstate 280. The city and Apple are proposing to monitor the lanes for traffic violations and unsafe driving for nine months.

City staff is also suggesting a penalty system that would see Apple pay $500 for each weaving car or traffic violation during rush-hour traffic. The number of violations will be determined by an independent observer based upon review of video footage.

The commission endorsed the three-lane system and the monitoring plan, but shot down the penalty suggestion.

"By charging the fine, it's sort of like sticking your finger in their eye. I think it will accomplish nothing in terms of resolving this problem," Commissioner Paul Brophy said.

The commission also endorsed a plan to work with the nearby Cupertino Village Shopping Center's property owners to possibly eliminate or alter a driveway that is directly north of Apple's new main driveway on N. Wolfe Road.

Cupertino officials expressed concern that drivers exiting the shopping center might try to maneuver across the three lanes to get to the left-turn lanes or make a dangerous U-turn. Staff is also concerned that rush-hour traffic could even block access to the driveway altogether, resulting in impatient drivers merging into traffic when there are insufficient gaps.

To further mitigate traffic impacts, Apple plans to get more than one-third of its employees using its charter bus program or taking some other form of transportation to work. Currently, 28 percent of Apple employees travel to work using something other than their own car.

"It's an aggressive goal, but one we think we can achieve," Whisenhunt told the commission.

The Core

Apple employees are currently spread across 80 buildings in the city, with about 3,000 calling the main Infinite Loop campus home. The new campus will see the 16,000 Apple employees in the city grow to 24,000 upon completion, Whisenhunt told the commission.

Getting many of those employees into one area is a major genesis for the project. The 2.82 million-square-foot circular building--dubbed the "idea factory" by Whisenhunt--will house all engineers and creative groups under one roof to further collaboration on projects. The building will have a central garden with outdoor dining areas, walking paths and a centerpiece water feature.

Roughly 300 species of trees will be planted, and many of those trees are already growing in nurseries across California, Whisenhunt added. In total, Apple will remove 4,501 trees and plant 6,200 new ones. Approximately 90 trees will be relocated from the current HP site, including a memorial tree planted years ago to honor an HP employee.

The landscape will be designed to echo the look and feel of the local foothills, according to Cupertino city staff. There are plans to serve food grown in the campus' orchards in dishes prepared at on-site restaurants and cafes, according to city staff.

Improvements around the campus will include new bike lanes, landscaped medians and traffic signal upgrades.

A good portion of the excavated materials from construction will be used to create berms around the perimeter to screen the buildings and keep prying eyes away from the campus. A welcome center will be set up near Pruneridge and N. Tantau avenues and could be the home of some public art.

The project will be built in two phases with the ringed main campus, auditorium, fitness center, parking structures and central plant rising first. A second phase will see office and research development buildings built along with a smaller parking structure. The design for these buildings is in the conceptual phase, according to city staff.

The city will see quite the financial windfall, too. Apple estimates that property taxes will more than double to $57 million due to campus development. City tax receipts will go from $9.2 million last year to about $13 million in 2014 once the campus is approved.

The project will also generate $45 million in one-time revenue for the city solely due to property sale, construction taxes and various construction fees. For those outside city hall, Apple is estimating the project will generate 9,000 jobs, most of which will be union labor.

Despite the commission's recommendation, the city council will have final say on all matters during the Oct. 15 meeting. A second reading of ordinances is also tentatively set for Nov. 19. All meetings are open to the public and begin at 5 p.m.

If approvals go smoothly, Whisenhunt told the planning commission that construction could take 32 months, with employees moving into the campus at some point in 2016.

Brophy closed out the commission's meeting by suggesting that Apple's desire to build an unorthodox and expensive new home is both an endorsement for the company's future success and for the city.

"It's not really so much a real estate investment as it is an all-in bet that the company is willing to put billions of dollars into a structure that will not be just a roof over the head of employees, but provide an environment in which 10, 20, 30 years from now products will be developed that we can not even imagine today," Brophy said.

"I think we should be proud to have that kind of company that has that kind of optimism and ambition. It's also a multimillion dollar bet on Cupertino, that Cupertino will be the kind of place that employees will want to live in and work in. We're grateful for all that."